NY S01857

Establishes a three-year pilot program where the Health Commissioner contracts with a not-for-profit organization to identify and cancel hospital medical debt for eligible New York residents

Defines eligible residents as those with household income at or below 400% of federal poverty guidelines, or those with hospital medical debt equal to 5% or more of household income

Requires the not-for-profit to purchase or receive debt as donations from participating hospitals at or below fair market value, then cancel the debt and notify recipients

Gives priority to eligible residents with debt 18 months or older and those residing in the lowest-income zip codes

Exempts cancelled medical debt from New York state income tax, regardless of federal tax treatment, and requires hospitals to notify credit reporting agencies to remove cancelled debt from recipients' credit reports

Mandates annual public reporting on program outcomes including total debt discharged, number of recipients, and demographic breakdowns by zip code, county, and poverty level